Spotlight Artifacts21/30

Pepa of Salt-n-Pepa Jacket, 1988

Design Photography, Inc.

Main Exhibit Hall - Legends of Rock, Rapper's Delight: The Story of Hip-Hop
By the late '80s, hip-hop was on its way to becoming a male-dominated art form, which is what made the emergence of Salt-n-Pepa so significant. As the first all-female rap crew (even their DJs were women) of importance, the group broke down a number of doors for women in hip-hop. They were also one of the first rap artists to cross over into the pop mainstream, laying the groundwork for the music's widespread acceptance in the early '90s. Cheryl "Salt" James and Sandy "Pepa" Denton, along with DJ Spinderella (born Deidre "Dee Dee" Roper) released “Push It" in 1987. The single went to Number 19 on the pop chart. Pepa wore this jacket in the Salt-n-Pepa video for “Push It.” Their first album, Hot, Cool & Vicious, went platnium, a first for female rappers.